Wages of full- and part-time cooks in 2009

November 24, 2010

Wages for full-time cooks averaged $11.29 per hour in 2009; wages for part-time cooks averaged $9.03 per hour. The average wage rate for full-time cooks ranged from $8.87 per hour for fast food cooks to $12.44 per hour for institution and cafeteria cooks; for part-time cooks, wages ranged from $7.91 per hour for fast food cooks to $12.44 for institution and cafeteria cooks.

More than 2 million workers (1.5 percent of the workforce) are employed as cooks, which include fast food cooks, short order cooks, restaurant cooks, and institution and cafeteria cooks. About 75 percent of cooks work in food services and drinking establishments, which include fast food restaurants, food courts, and full-service restaurants. The remaining 25 percent work in places such as hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. About two-thirds of cooks work full time and one-third work part time.

Self-employment in the United States
Trends in self-employment by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including both the unincorporated and the incorporated self-employed, as well as data on paid employees who work for the self-employed.